“I’ll resume healthy eating after my holiday… once the baby is born… after Dad gets out of the hospital… January 1… Monday.”

While this kind of “pause-button mentality” seems reasonable, it could be ruining your health and fitness. Here’s why, and what to do about it.

There’s a question that’s been finding its way to me a LOT lately:

“Why doesn’t your training offer a ‘pause’ feature?”

After all, what’s the harm in letting clients/patients take a break from a nutrition and fitness plan when they’re:

leaving for vacation,

completely swamped at work,

pregnant, or just after delivery,

injured, or

caring for an ailing family member?

For a client, the thought process boils down to:

If I miss some workouts, eat the wrong things, skip the homework… I fail.

Aren’t I more likely to succeed if I take a break, just until I have the time to do it right?

This is what I call the ‘pause-button mentality’.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I think it’s normal — even commendable — to want to do your best. To consider taking time to regroup and then resume (or start over) when life feels easier.

At the same time, this completely natural and well-meaning impulse is one of the fastest, surest, most reliable ways to sabotage your plans for improved nutrition, health, and fitness.

Here’s why — and what to do instead.

Starting fresh after you lose your way is a really comforting thought.

That’s probably why New Year’s resolutions are so popular, especially following the indulgence-fueled holiday season.

Give me that cheesecake. I’ll pick my diet back up on Monday!

In fact, we’ve learned in our nutrition coaching programs that the idea of a do-over is so alluring you don’t even need a mess-up for the pause-button mentality to take over.

Every January, we welcome a new group of clients. Every July, we take in the second, and final, group of the year.

In July, six months in, just knowing that there are new clients starting the program fresh in January makes some July clients “itch” for a new beginning, even though they’re already making progress, changing their bodies.

If only you’d let me start over, I’d really nail it this time!

But here’s the problem: The pause-button mentality only builds the skill of pausing.

Whether it’s tomorrow, Monday, next week, or even next year, hitting that imaginary pause button gives you some sense of relief.

It allows you a little respite from what can be really a tough slog.

(And the middle is always a tough slog, it doesn’t matter what kind of project you’re working on.)

This perceived relief is compounded by the illusion that if we “start fresh” later we can find the magical “right time” to begin.

Listen, I get it.

It can feel absurd to try to improve your eating and exercise habits while you’re in the midst of chronic stress / looking for a job / starting a new job / going on vacation / caring for aging parents / raising small children.

That’s probably why there are so many 21-day this and 90-day that. What adult has more than 90 days to go after their fitness goals with an all-out effort?

But what do these intense fitness sprints teach you?

The skill of getting fit within a very short (and completely non-representative) period of your life.

What don’t they teach you?

The skill of getting fit (or staying fit) in the midst of a normal, complicated, “how it really is” sort of life.

This is why the yo-yo diet thing has become such a phenomenon.

It’s not about willpower. It’s about skills.

In most fitness scenarios, you learn how to get fit under weird, tightly-controlled, white-knuckle life situations.

You build that one, solitary, non-transferable skill — to slam the gas pedal down, drive the needle into the red, and squeal down the road for a little while, burning the rubber off your tires until you (quickly) run out of gas and crash.

What you don’t build is the ability to get fit under real-life conditions.

That’s why it doesn’t stick. Not because you're useless.

But because the natural and predictable consequence of having a limited skill set is short-term progress followed immediately by long-term frustration.

What will be different next time?

I remember having lunch with a colleague who swore up and down that his low-carb diet plus daily running was the secret to staying in shape.

I had to follow up with a painful question: “Well, why aren’t you actually in shape?”

After a long pause: “Uhh, I’ve had a hard time sticking with it. We just had our second child. The holidays just ended. I just switched jobs.” He trailed off…

“But, once everything settles down, I’ll get with the program and get in shape again! I guess I’m just on a little break.”

This story illustrates the point perfectly.

Here’s someone who’s built his fitness on a house of cards. He knows only one thing: How to get in shape by following a very challenging program when the conditions are perfect.

And whenever life isn’t perfect, which is most of the time, he hits the pause button. He waits for a better time. (All the while losing the health and fitness he previously worked so hard for.)

That’s why, when our clients ask to press pause, we usually ask them:

“What will be different when you come back?”

Nine times out of 10, the honest answer is nothing. Nothing will be different.

Life is just…happening. And it’ll happen again in January, or after the baby is born, or after Mum gets better, or at any other arbitrary point you pick.

And what then?

I’ve wanted to press “pause” myself.

If you’ve ever felt like pressing pause, or you feel this way right now, it might help to know I’ve felt exactly the same way.

A few years back, my wife and I decided to renovate a home. During the reno, we lived in a tiny apartment above my in-laws’ garage. At the time I was also starting up Precision Nutrition.

Every day we’d wake up and get straight to work. At the end of the day, we’d drive 1 ½ hours to the new house to chip away at the reno. Then, late at night, we’d drive 1 ½ hours back and fall into bed. Repeat.

At first, I thought there was no way to exercise. My schedule was completely packed, I had nowhere to work out, and my eating was less than ideal.

But after a couple of weeks I realised that something was going to be better than nothing.

The renovations would continue. Running a business would only get more demanding. And we were planning to have our first child.

I realised I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t press pause. Because, if I didn’t continue, there’d never be that “perfect time” to hit play again.

I needed to find a way to squeeze in some kind of workout, however quick, easy, and unglamorous.

Let’s accept that life has no pause button.

The key lesson here is that, like it or not, the game of life keeps going.

There is no timeout.

There’s never going to be a moment when things are magically easier.

You can’t escape work, personal, and family demands. Nor can you escape the need for health and fitness in your life.

Here’s a thought experiment:

What if you tried to hit pause in other areas of your life?

Imagine you’re up for a big promotion at work. For the next two weeks, all you want to do is focus on mastering an upcoming presentation, and winning over your boss.

Trouble is, you’ve got two young children at home who tend to grasp, koala-like, onto your legs and demand your full attention.

Honey, you say to your spouse, I’m just gonna press pause on being a parent for now. I’ll be staying at a hotel. Don’t contact me.

I don’t know about you, but that would NOT go over well in my family.

You can’t really press pause — and you definitely can’t hit reset — on being a parent. (You’ve thought about it, though. I know you have.)

Just like you can’t stop showing up for work and expect not to get fired. Or “take a break” from being married and not wind up divorced.

Generally, when it comes to life, we know we’re not always going to be on our A Game.

Sometimes we’re superstars. Most of the time we just do our best.

We muddle through. We keep going.

So why do we expect it to be any different with fitness?

In my case, above, I hired a coach and we came up with a simple workout program that met these criteria:

No more than 3x a week.

No more than 10 minutes per session.

Has to be done upon waking up, right next to the bed.

Requires no equipment.

I did that for about 6 months. Was it the Best Workout Ever? No! Did I end up, after 6 months, fitter than ever? Heck no!

But was it better than hitting the pause button and doing nothing? You bet!

See, perfectionism is not the point.

“Completing” a program, PN Coaching or any other, is not the point.

Being the “best” for a tiny window of time is not the point.

The point is to keep going. Sometimes awkwardly, sometimes incompetently, sometimes downright half-assed. But to keep going nonetheless.

As I often teach our new clients:

The “all or nothing” mentality rarely gets us “all”. It usually gets us “nothing”.

That’s when I propose a new mantra:

“Always something”.

Instead of pressing pause, adjust the dial.

Nowadays I like to think of my fitness and nutrition efforts as a dial.

There are times when I want to dial my efforts up, and times when I want to dial them down. But I never want to turn the dial off completely.

Here’s how this plays out in the context of my life.

Sometimes, say when I’m training for a track competition or concentrating on a particular goal, my fitness dial might be tuned to 9 or 10 out of 10.

Channel 10 means I work out every day. Every meal is planned and carefully considered. I think a lot about fitness. And not much about anything else.

Work, family, hobbies…they’re all in maintenance mode (with the permission of the people this affects, of course).

However, as I write this, my life involves the following:

Settling into a new home.

Conducting major home renovations.

Raising 4 children, one of them still a baby.

Running a growing business with nearly 100 team members.

So these days, the dial rarely goes past 3 or 4. I work out, maybe, three days a week. And most of my meals are just “good enough”.

(For the record, I’m totally fine with that. There is no guilt about having my dial set a little lower. What’s most important is that the dial is still set to “on”.)

The important lesson: There’s a big difference between turning your dial to 3, 2, or even a 1, and turning the whole thing off.

And when you realise how doable — and effective — channels 3 and 2 and 1 can be, you see that there’s never a good reason to hit “pause”.

I get it. It’s easy to discount the lower channels. Especially when you’ve done more in the past. But remember your new mantra…“Always something.”Precision Nutrition Coaching graduate Susan Olding was dealing with a family crisis during the program: Her dad became ill and eventually passed away.Susan could have given up when her dad was sick. Asked for a pause. And no one would have blamed her.Instead, she challenged herself to embrace imperfection and do something every day:Each day, I asked myself: If I can’t do what was asked of me, what can I do? What can I manage (physically, emotionally, mentally) now?Then I went and did it.Meanwhile, I also tried to add spontaneous activity into my days. I paced the hospital halls, parked at a distance and walked to the hospital door. I went for evening walks.Anything to stay active.I remember Susan telling me about the random sets of squats she did in the corner of her dad’s hospital room while he was resting.

Susan’s takeaway:Perfection never happens in real life.We’re always going to be doing the best we can with what we have.And that’s okay.We can still make progress toward our goals and still improve our health and our fitness – whatever’s going on in our lives.That progress doesn’t happen if you “press pause” and wait for a better time.It doesn’t happen if you say “I’ll squat again once the Dad situation resolves itself”. Or if you ask for a re-do next week, next month, next year.“Fitness in the context of real human life”.That’s one of our mottos here at Precision Nutrition.It’s what I think we’re the best in the world at: Helping clients be healthy and fit in the context of their real lives.Not while pretending to be someone they’re not. Not by signing up for a 12-week boot camp with daily workouts and restrictive diets.But by living their own lives and practicing “always something”.In my opinion, pressing pause is buying into an imaginary ideal: a “perfect” time when everything will fall into place; a beautiful, linear trajectory from total failure to apex awesomeness:

Asking for a restart because you don’t want to mess that line up is deluding yourself that somehow, next time will be easier. Next time will be perfect. No interruptions, no distractions…no…life.Unfortunately, there is no perfect time.We may have magical moments, of course. Short periods of time when things seem to “click” and come together.But then the dog poops on the rug. Or the kid throws up on the couch. Or both… and then one or the other tracks it all through the house.You keep pressing pause, and your progress looks like this.

Or, worse yet, you end up flatlining, stuck on a never-ending (maybe eternal) pause.What to do next.Fitness in the context of real human life is just like the rest of life.We’re all just doing the best we can in challenging, complicated circumstances. We are all living messy, imperfect lives. We are all human.If we can just keep moving forward, no matter what happens, no pause buttons, no do-overs, we win the game.

Here are a few strategies for getting out of the pause-button mentality and into a more realistic, effective, sustainable way of thinking.1. Try the dial method.Think of your fitness like a dial that goes from 1 – 10.If you were to dial it up to “10”…

What would your workouts look like?

What would your nutrition look like?

What other actions/habits would you practice in that scenario?

If you were to dial it down to “1”…

What would your workouts look like?

What would your nutrition look like?

What other actions/habits would you practice in that scenario?

Giving thought to your life right now, where is your dial set?Would you like to make any adjustments?Could you move the dial up a level, or even half a level?If so, what would that look like?On the other hand…Should you move the dial down a channel so you can stick with health and fitness even during a difficult time?2. Aim for a little bit better.An all-or-nothing approach usually doesn’t get us “all”. It usually gets us “nothing”.You know what actually works?Small improvements done consistently over time work — we have proof in the over 100,000 clients we’ve helped through Precision Nutrition Coaching method.You might be trying to make a meal out of hospital cafeteria food, or gas station food, or airplane food. You might be spending hours awake with a newborn in the middle of the night, or stuck in yet another full-day meeting.These aren’t ideal scenarios, but they’re not necessarily hopeless either.Look around. Get creative. See if you can find some small — maybe minuscule — improvements.3. Anticipate, strategise and plan.

Since we already know that stuff is going to go wrong, the best thing we can do is anticipate and make plans for how to deal when they do.A simple way to do this is by answering two questions:

What’s likely to get in the way of what I hope to accomplish?

What is something I can do today to help me keep going when I face those obstacles?

For some people, that might be a Sunday ritual where they prep food for the week so they won’t be scrambling for healthy meals on busy weeknights. For others, it might mean having a healthy meal-delivery service on speed dial.Don’t be surprised and dismayed when things go haywire. They will at some point. Just arm yourself with the best tools and strategies so you can stay in the game when you’re thrown a curveball.

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4. BETTER SLEEPWhen we are less stressed we sleep better, and when we sleep better we are less stressed!

Physical activity and mental relaxation fuel this positive cycle.

A variety of studies have shown that yoga can improve sleep quality and quantity in people struggling with insomnia too.5. INCREASED MOBILITY & FLEXIBILITYFlexibility is often discussed in yoga, but what’s really important in our daily lives is mobility – the functional flexibility that makes it easier for you to complete everyday movements that require kneeling, bending or reaching – or maybe just cleaning the house!

Yoga increases your functional mobility so that you can bring more ease to your movement and don’t feel so stiff in your body.

This increase in mobility and the process of regularly stretching and lengthening muscles during yoga practice also helps to prevent muscular injuries-great if you have active hobbies like running or cycling.

6. DETOXPhysical activity stimulates the organs and muscles, which helps them to carry out their functions and detox the body.

Also breathing techniques used in yoga such as Deep yogic breathing improve the function of the lungs.

Any sweating too is a great detox function for the body!7. GET TO KNOW YOUR BODYWe only get one body to live in, shouldn’t you get to know it better?

Yoga enables us to focus upon what our body is feeling right now.

Where are your legs and arms? What are they doing? Which muscles are active?

This practice develops you skills of proprioception, which in turn leads to things like better posture and better balance.8. BREATHE!In addition to helping us relax, deep breathing has been proven to physiologically impact the heart, brain, digestion, immune system — and maybe even the expression of genes.

Deep breathing also alkalinizes the body, keeping it balanced in its naturally slightly alkalinized state.

Helping the body to become more alkaline is important in our modern lives.

Acidity in our bodies is on the rise as environmental stressors, pesticides in foods, sugary foods, and air pollution become more rife.

Learning and practicing breathing techniques in yoga can help to right these imbalances within the body.Try a yogic breathing technique:

​Pranayama are breathing exercises in yoga.

One of these is Nadi shodhana, or alternate nostril breathing, is a simple technique that we can use in addition to asana.

Nadi means “channel,” and shodhana means “cleansing” or “purifying.”

It is said that it cleanses the left and right sides of the brain and balances Yin and Yang energy.

Helping to reduce stress, lower the heart rate and prepare, the body for meditation.

1. Find a comfortable seated position, perhaps crossed legged in -Sukhasana (Easy Pose), or sit on a blanket or pillow. Create a nice long spine by lifting from the crown of the head. Rest your left palm on your left knee, moving your right hand towards the nose.

2. Using the right thumb, softly close the right nostril, and inhale as slowly as you can through the left nostril, then close it with your ring finger. Pause. Open and exhale slowly through the right nostril.

3. With the right nostril open, inhale slowly, then close it with the thumb. Pause. Exhale through the left nostril. Once your exhalation is complete, inhale through the left. Pause before moving to the right.

4. Repeat this pattern five to ten times, and then release the right hand to the right knee. Ease back into normal breathing.

9. TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT? Yoga is exercise, and you do burn calories doing yoga.

Even slower styles of yoga such as Yin yoga can help you to control your weight by reducing stress, helping to bring mindfulness to your eating habits, and providing a heightened sense of well-being and self-esteem.

When we have good posture it can reduce anxiety, improve productivity, reduce back pain, and also helps us to breathe better.

11. IMPROVED CONCENTRATIONDistractions and ‘multi-tasking’ are commonplace in our modern lives.

Concentration is being able to calmly move your focus from many things at once to one thing at a time and not get stressed whilst doing so.

In yoga we turn our focus inward to the body, raising awareness of the breath and the emotional and physical feelings we feel throughout the yoga practice.

This helps to teach our minds to focus upon one thing at a time.

If you observe your breath, it will slow down, as the breathing slows down, the mind will too.

Over time practicing how to focus and build concentration will shift you into a restful but aware state, this meditation recharges the mind and can help with enhanced brain power and creativity.

12. PLAY! Yoga practice encourages us to approach new and challenging situations with curiosity and playfulness instead of ego and frustration.

Being adults we rarely attempt new things, like balancing on our hands or spending time with our legs up against the wall.

Taking on physical, mental and emotional challenges as part of a ‘practice’ helps us develop a ‘child mind’… where we are less goal-oriented and living life in the moment.​So there you go 12 FANTASTIC reasons to give Yoga a go - Enjoy!

Yogi-By-Sea xx

Sally Anker is a qualified yoga instructor based in Shoreham-by-Sea with experience teaching different styles of yoga and helping students with a diverse range of needs and aims.She can offer bespoke one to one classes either in your own home or at the " Mark Personal training" Studio in Lancing.

She also holds local group classes and offers corporate yoga to businesses looking to support staff wellbeing in the workplace.

Move over massage and meditation, the secret to feeling calm is just a click away

We all need to relax more in our lives, but do you ever find your mind wandering while you’re trying to relax, or do you find it impossible to switch off when it’s time for bed? It’s normal to find it hard to chill out in an instant, but listening to music set at a certain frequency has been scientifically proven to help us unwind — and can be done easily and on-the—go.

Tune into the right frequency

"Listening to music that has been tuned to 432Hz will calm you down and fill you with a sense of peace and wellbeing in as little as two minutes,” says sound therapist Denise Leicester.

​“Music that is tuned to a 432 frequency vibrates at the same rhythm as the Earth's heartbeat (electromagnetic Waves that circle around the planet’s atmosphere). This is known as the Shumann Resonance and is the optimum frequency for promoting good health. In ancient times, people received healing by going to temples and listening to music — but that changed over time and modern, commercial music is at a different frequency, so there are no healing benefits.”

Does it work?

“New scientific studies have shown that listening to music at a specific frequency promotes calming brain waves. The brain has four different brainwave patterns — beta (aroused, alert), alpha (relaxed), theta (when in deep sleep,meditative) and delta (trance—like).

Most of us live mainly in a beta brainwave state, which can lead to anxiety and stress. But 432Hz music switches brainwaves into relaxed alpha mode and lowers blood pressure, heart rate and stress.

Listening to that frequency helps to re-balance the body and brain. So even if you do have stress, your body is better equipped to cope with it.”

How to tune in and zone out...

Destress at your deskStruggling to cope with a flood of emails or have a presentation to prepare for? Try listening to 432Hz music on your computer via headphones. You can find hundreds of tunes on YouTube.

Get ClassicalVerdi and Mozart both composed to 432Hz frequency, so even listening to some classical music for 2 minutes while driving or cooking dinner can make a difference to how you feel.

Heal Your HomeMusic or sounds played at 432Hz frequency reduces both stress and the chance of confrontation. Perfect if it keeps the children from rowing or you want to create a calm atmosphere for visitors.

Listen on-the-goDownload some 432Hz tracks to your MP3 player to decrease your anxiety and boost happiness levels while you are on a busy commute or at a hectic supermarket.

Spend time outsideTrees, plants, flowers and greenery naturally resonate at 432Hz, so spending time outside in the countryside is a great way to relax.

Never seem to find healthy food when you're hungry or haven't got time to spend ages cooking?

Try these strategies for having healthy food available when you need it.

They’ll help make planning your meals easy and stress-free.

One of the many important lessons I teach my clients:

Keep it simple.

Think less.

Make fewer decisions.

Let your environment do most of the work for you.

If healthy food is conveniently around you, you’re more likely to eat it.

If you have a trusted system for making healthy food available, you don’t have to decide to eat well… you just do it.

The “food ritual”

Set aside a bit of time to prepare some healthy food in advance so that it’s ready, available, and convenient when you need it.

How you choose to ritualise healthy meal prep is up to you.

Here are some strategies that have worked well for my clients.

Option 1: The Sunday Ritual

You don’t have to do this on Sunday, obviously.

You can choose any day you like. It’s just that Sunday is often a time when people are more free, more relaxed, and more able to devote time to this type of task.

And it’s a time when we’re usually thinking ahead to the upcoming week.

Whatever day you choose, set aside 2-3 hours once a week to do the following:

Look ahead to your upcoming schedule and see what’s happening. What nutrition challenges or opportunities might pop up? Where might you need some special preparation in advance? What are the quiet and busy times? Etc.

Come up with a general menu for at least the next few days. It doesn’t have to be anything in-depth. Just get a basic sense of the food you might need to have on hand for the week ahead.

Build your shopping list from your menu. This will help you be as effective and efficient as possible when you go to the supermarket, and you’ll be less tempted to buy random (and non-goal supporting) things.

Go to the supermarket. Stock up on what you need for the week. Avoid the aisles that have the tempting foods you know you shouldn't be having. Consider grabbing a few extra “just in case” emergency items as well, such as canned beans, frozen vegetables, or other easily-stored healthy options that you can use quickly.

Once you’re back home, start prepping and cooking. Prepare a batch of lean protein — for example, by grilling or roasting several chicken breasts/thighs at once. Try some one-pot meals that can be easily cooked in a slow cooker, then divided into containers to be frozen or refrigerated, such as soups, stews, curries, chili, etc. Wash and chop veggies. Why slice tomatoes for one meal when you can slice them for three? It takes just as much time to bake one chicken breast...as it does to bake several.

Some people choose to prepare most of their meals for the week on Sundays.

Others prefer to figure out which meals will be easy to cook “in the moment” and save them for later, and only pre-prep meals for super busy times (such as lunches at work or dinner after a late meeting).

Do what works best for you, and your schedule.

If possible, give yourself a little extra buffer zone.

You never know what unexpected challenge might strike at 6pm on Wednesday, and when it does, you’ll be glad you stocked away an extra meal in the freezer.

Pack up ingredients and meals for easy storage in your freezer, fridge, or workspace.Option 2: The Daily RitualYou can combine the Sunday Ritual with the Daily Ritual — for example, by preparing the labour-intensive staples such as lean protein on Sunday, and then adding some quick-prep items (such as fruit and veggies) every day.

It often takes about as much time to prepare a few items as it does to prepare one.

For example, it’s nearly as fast to chop 3 carrots as it is to chop 1, or to boil 6 eggs instead of 2.

During the Daily Ritual, you can prep a few extra items to have on hand for later in the day, or the following day.

Try a Morning Ritual where you use some of these time-saving strategies to whip up a healthy breakfast or lunch:

Porridge: Shake up your dry oats and any other items (e.g. ground flaxseeds, cinnamon, protein powder, other grains, etc.) in a large container. In the morning, scoop out the dry mix, pour in some water, and pop it in the microwave. Top with fruit, add more protein if you like (e.g. cottage cheese, Greek yogurt) and enjoy a hearty breakfast.

Egg “batter”: Mix up some eggs in a blender (with some veggies if you like); keep the mixture in a jar in the fridge for up to three days. Pour and cook as needed.

No-sog salad: Take a large jar and pour salad dressing into the bottom. Then add veggies, top with greens, and make sure the jar stays refrigerated and upright throughout the day. When you’re ready to eat it, shake it up and pour it into a bowl.

Or try a Dinner Ritual where you simply make extra portions and save the rest for tomorrow.

Again, it doesn’t take much more time to prepare a few extra things, so cook in bulk where possible.

There are also many specialty food store chains that offer healthy food takeaway and delivery.

You can even sign up for a healthy meal delivery service, if only for one or two meals a week. If you don’t enjoy cooking, or are extremely busy, you may find that having a break from the time and hassle of meal prep is worth the money. It might just mean the difference between a delicious, nourishing, physique friendly lunchtime salad and another regrettable fast-food run.

Google “healthy meal delivery” in your area and see what pops up.

Even if you prepare meals yourself, you could save yourself a trip to the supermarket by doing an online shopping order. It's also a great way to avoid getting tempted by other foods that often get pushed in your face in the supermarket, despite trying to avoid certain isles.

The bottom line: Do what works best for you — your life and your goals.

You can mix and match all of these food ritual options, in any way that works for you. Anticipate, plan, strategise. ​​

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With advice based on my experiences with clients over the years, this e-Book will start you on your journey to eat clean and get lean.

Nutrition habit building tips and tricks that my clients tried and tested over the years and they proved to work

​Lots of people looking to improve their eating try following a meal plan.

The problem is meal plans are usually unrealistic and not a long-term strategy.

So, instead of prescribing yet another unrealistic eating regimen, check out these 6 ways to transform your nutrition in a sustainable way.

“Do I get a meal plan?”

This is a common question I get from prospective clients who are considering my training.

My answer: No, I don’t do 'meal plans' per se.

It is true that meal plans have long been a staple of the fitness and nutrition industry.

Coaches are taught to create them. Clients are taught to expect them.

Unfortunately:

Most of the time, meal plans don’t work.

You see, traditional meal plans are explicit prescriptions.

Eat this exact thing, in this exact amount, at this exact time.

For example:

Breakfast – 7:30am

3 eggs, scrambled

1 cup vegetables

1 piece whole grain toast

1 cup coffee

1 glass water

​Morning snack – 10:00am

1 protein bar

1 handful mixed nuts

Lunch – 12:30pm

4 oz chicken

2 cups salad

1 handful seeds

1 glass water

After exercise – 4:30pm

1 scoop whey protein

1/2 cup frozen fruit

1 tsp omega 3 oil

12 oz water

Dinner – 7:00pm

4 oz steak

1 cup cooked veggies

1 baked potato

1 glass water

A lot of people might want a plan (or they think they do).

"I’m sick of trying to figure all this stuff out! Just tell me what to eat!”

Unfortunately, when we try to follow rigid prescriptions like this, lots can (and often does) go wrong.

For example:

Scenario 1: You just don’t stick to the plan.

No matter how enthusiastic you are, meal plans can be tough to follow unless you can work your whole life around them, which most people can't.

This is normal. Life can get in the way.

• People get busy,• You're not always prepared,• Your children require attention,• You have to work late sometimes,• it’s always someone’s birthday (or a special occasion), and• sometimes you just don’t feel like having a green drink at 7am.

Even if you’ve actually paid to have someone make your plan, you might find yourself rebelling against it in subtle (or not-so subtle) ways. This is also to be expected.

Unfortunately, it means you might not get the results you hope for.

For instance, a meal plan you hoped would help you lose weight could actually encourage you to gain weight instead.

Scenario 2: You follow the plan perfectly.

In fact, you follow it too well and for too long.

Most meal plans are meant to be temporary.

They’re designed to help a person get to a specific short-term goal, like dropping a few extra pounds before a wedding, learning to manage blood sugar, or cutting weight for a sporting competition.

Our bodies can usually adapt to a rigid way of eating for a short period of time.

But if you’re too strict for too long, you could end up with disordered eating habits and lasting health (mental, metabolic, hormonal, etc) problems.

Scenario 3: You follow the plan for a short period but it's horrible.

It isn’t sustainable. It doesn’t make you feel better. It doesn’t keep you sane.

Maybe you see some short-term results (or not). But you hate living and eating this way. You never want to see another cabbage or chicken breast again!

Eventually, you get so turned off by the process that you regress or quit altogether (The 'F**k it stage) You're done with this “eating healthy” lark.

And you miss your big chance to learn how to make healthier, more enjoyable, more lasting and real changes.

Another reason meal plans fail

One of the biggest (yet generally unacknowledged) problems with traditional meal plans is their focus on “nutrients”.

Real people don’t eat “nutrients”. We eat food.

We eat meals, often with other people.

We eat meals that match our cultural background and social interests.

And we rarely measure things precisely.

Sure, sometimes an explicit prescription is necessary.

For instance, professional athletes or bodybuilders (in other words, people who make money off their bodies and athletic skills) use meal plans to prepare for training and competition.

But most of us don’t need that level of precision.

We don’t normally eat “ounces” or "grams" of things, or refer to food by their nutrients (like “omega-3 fatty acids”).

Bottom line: If you want to eat better, you don’t have to complicate things. You don’t need to weigh and measure everything, or count out your almonds - At least not every time!

Ask yourself: “Is someone paying me to do this?” If the answer is no, you likely don’t need this kind of approach.

You just need to think about what you’re already eating, and how you could make it a little bit better.

This means experimenting and adjusting.

Making small changes and improvements to what you already normally eat and enjoy, one small step at a time.

Think about a spectrum of food quality rather than “bad” or “good” foods.

When you play with the idea of a food spectrum or food continuum, you get to experiment with variables like:​• what you eat; and• how you eat it.

Think of it as an experiment.

How can you “make this meal just a little bit better” in every situation?

In which situations is that easier or harder?

When your choices are limited (for instance, when you’re traveling, or eating at a workplace cafe), how can you aim for “a little bit better” while still being realistic, and without trying to be “perfect”?

Let’s transform breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Here’s how that “food spectrum” might look in daily life, with a sample day of eating.

Breakfast

Level 1​Let’s say that your go-to breakfast is a whipped-cream coffee drink and a chocolate croissant.

You pick it up in a cafe, and scoff it down on your way to work.

This is your starting point. It’s not “great”. It’s not working for you.

You’re getting indigestion from rushing, the croissant doesn’t fill you up, and you spill the coffee whilst trying to drive at the same time.​Now, improve your breakfast just a little bit, starting with what you already have or do.

​Level 2​Your first steps in taking breakfast to the next level:

• You might replace the croissant with a whole grain muffin.• Instead of a “dessert in a cup”, you get a regular coffee with a single cream and sugar.• You grab a yoghurt on your way out of the house for a bit of protein.

Naturally, you’re still rushed and busy… so you eat your breakfast with some distractions, while scrolling through emails at work.​But it's still a solid start.

​Level 3​• You switch the muffin to granola with Greek yoghurt.• You switch the cream in your coffee for 2% milk. (Or even stick with just black coffee)• You add some fruit.• You’re now eating out of dishes on a table, instead of a take-away packages sat in your car.

You're still checking out the news or going through work emails while you eat…

​No problem. It's realistic.

​Level 4​Now you are seriously good.​• You’ve changed 'rushing and panicked' to set aside extra time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast.• You cleverly prepped an egg frittata with veggies in advance on your food prep day.• The coffee’s become green tea, since you noticed that too much coffee was keeping you on edge.• The protein plus colourful fruit and veg have become the focal point of the meal.• You’ve discovered you really like water.• You eat mindfully, feeling relaxed, while watching the sun rise.

“Eat slowly? Who has time for that during a busy workday? Grab a burger and go!”

Another “car dashboard” meal. Another stomach ache and regret.​You decide you might want to play with this meal too.

​Level 2

To improve this meal a little bit:​• You go to a higher-end burger place where you’re pretty sure they use real meat.• You get a side salad with that burger, and maybe just a few chips.• You choose a diet drink instead of regular.• You don’t eat in your car, but you do eat by your computer.

​That’s OK. You’re progressing.

​Level 3​At this stage, you’re doing a little prep work.

• You whipped up some burgers in advance so they are handy and ready to take to work.• You also grabbed some nice cheese and whole grain buns from the local market on shopping day.

For lunch, all you have to do is take your homemade burger and its fixings to work.

You still grab a diet cola from the vending machine to wash it down.

​You move from your desk to the lunchroom, where you socialise with colleagues. This slows you down a bit and helps you digest and relax.

​Level 4​You’re having the burger without the bun, alongside a nice pre-prepped salad.

Instead of staying at your desk or in the office, you take a break.

You sit outside and get some fresh air while you enjoy your meal.

​For a drink, water’s all you need.

​Transforming dinnerLevel 1​It’s 8pm. You’ve just got home after an insane day at work.

All you want to do is put food into your face and relax out in front of the TV.

You can’t even imagine making anything more complicated than boxed macaroni ‘n’ cheese right now.​Ketchup and microwave hot dogs are as far as you'll go.

​Level 2​Same concept, but:​• You’re adding some extra protein with the help of a chicken leg that you grabbed at the supermarket on the way home.• You’ve added a side salad, just grabbing a few handfuls of pre-washed greens out of a bag.• You’ve whipped up your own pasta.

​Work is still on your mind, and a couple drinks take the edge off.

​Level 3​Things are getting better.​• You’re upping the protein with a little more chicken.• You’re having a little less pasta.• You’ve also added a nice big salad to the mix.• You’ve cut the alcohol to 1 drink.

Plus, you’re sitting at the dinner table, instead of flopping down on your sofa or standing over the sink.

​Level 4

This is your ideal.

With your meal planning and prep strategies, even a weeknight dinner looks good.​• You can whip up a delicious salad in 3 minutes flat and you have some pre-cooked quinoa on hand.• That chicken is still a fast, convenient option, but now it’s got some healthy additions.• You’re indulging in a single glass of good wine occassionally but most days water and you take time to savour it.

​Meal transformation is not about reaching perfection.

If you’re at level 1, all you have to do is aim for level 2. Or somewhere in between...

If you’re at level 2, experiment with getting to level 3.

And if you’re level 3, well, you can stay where you are.

You may never get to level 4. Or it might only happen at times when you’re relaxed and have a little extra time.

Level 4 might only happen on Sunday night, whereas the rest of your week is a mix of level 1, 2, and occasionally 3.

And that’s OK.

How far you progress along the continuum all depends on what YOU want, what YOU need, and what YOU can reasonably do, right now.

Over time, things can change.

Play YOUR game.

Success secret: Have a food prep ritual.

You might look at these photos and think, “How can people possibly do all that?”

One success secret: Having a food prep ritual.

The concept is simple:

Practice planning and preparing healthy food in advance.

This makes healthy eating convenient and easy.

It also makes decisions easier: You don’t have to make a choice when you’re rushed and hungry.

Your food prep ritual can include:​• Shopping (or arranging to have food delivered)• Menu and meal planning• Washing and chopping vegetables• Cooking/preparing protein (e.g. cooking up some chicken breasts)• Cooking meals in bulk (e.g. casseroles, soups, stews, chili)• Preparing the dry ingredients for things like smoothies or healthy flapjacks or granola.• Soaking grains/beans beforehand so that they’ll be ready to cook later• Sorting foods into individually portioned containers and bags.• Freezing and refrigerating food for later• Planning healthy meals that someone else cooks (e.g. using a meal delivery service, deciding in advance what to order at a restaurant, etc.)• Looking ahead to ensure healthy eating strategies during the next few days, especially during difficult times (e.g. a busy week, travelling, dealing with a family crisis, etc.)

Mix and match any of these to find what works for you.

Experiment with systems, skills and strategies that work for YOU and YOUR life.

The real goal of a meal plan is to stop using a meal plan.

Fit, healthy people who have a good relationship with food don’t need other people to tell them exactly what to eat at all times.

Living a fit and healthy life doesn’t require perfection, either.

If you are using a meal plan:

That’s OK.

Some people like prescription, especially if they are working towards a specific short-term goal, like cutting weight to compete in boxing, making sure they get enough nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy, or fuelling their triathlon performance.

Keep it short-lived.

Meal plans are supposed to be temporary, working towards a short-term goal.

Keep it realistic.

As much as possible, try to make the meal plan fit your real life, not the other way around.

If you’re a parent, a worker, a student, or anyone else living in the real world, most of your meals will fall somewhere in the level 1 to 3 spectrum. That’s perfectly OK. Just experiment with being a little bit better, wherever you can.

Remember all goals require trade-offs.

If you want to achieve a high level of performance or exceptional body composition, understand what you are prioritising and sacrificing.

Try just fiddling with one or two, and see which ones work best for you.

3. Add things slowly.

Once you’ve improved one meal a day, try another.

If you feel like lunch is a solid level 2 or 3, play with moving breakfast, dinner, or snacks along the spectrum.

Or, once you’ve improved one factor in a meal (e.g. adding more protein), try another.

For instance, if you’re getting more protein, now try switching out your sugary drinks for some sparkling water. Or adding a little more veggies.

Be patient.

4. Set yourself up for success.

Notice what makes it easier and simpler for you to eat better.

Then figure out how to do or get more of that.

For instance:

• Is planning helping you? How could you do more of that?• Is online shopping delivery making it easy? Could you set aside a little more cash to get more food that you can potentially prep and freeze for a whole week rather than a few days worth?• Is setting aside time on Sunday afternoon to cook some protein a good idea? Great, keep on doing that. Book it in your calendar.

There’s no “right” way to do this. Do what works for YOU.

5. Enjoy your meals.

Meal plans don’t usually address how you eat.

Before you change what you eat, you can also try changing how you eat.

For example, you could:

• slow down• breathe between bites• relax• savour your food• sit at a table if you can• use real dishes if you can.

Give yourself some time and space to appreciate those tasty concoctions you put together.

Meal time is YOUR time.

6. Work towards being your own manager.

Sometimes you might just want someone to tell you what to do.

That’s fine, and helpful, especially if you’re juggling a lot. But only for a while.

Over time, look for ways to help yourself intuitively and wisely make better choices, rather than just following the rules.

Think long-term. What do you want to happen over the next few months? Year? 5 years? Do you want to be on a meal plan for the next few decades?

Today, if you were to take one small step towards the “better” end of the meal spectrum, what might that look like?

​FREE EBOOK DOWNLOAD:​NUTRITION 101

With advice based on my experiences with clients over the years, this e-Book will start you on your journey to eat clean and get lean.

Nutrition habit building tips and tricks that my clients tried and tested over the years and they proved to work

It is possible to approximate your basal metabolic rate — in other words, the energy cost of keeping you alive. But measurements are only as good as the tools we use.

When it comes to metabolic measurement, the best tools are hermetically sealed metabolic chambers, but not many of us hang out in those on normally.

Which means, while we may have our “metabolism” estimated at the gym, or by our fitness trackers, as with calorie counts on labels, these estimates can be off by 20-30 percent in normal, young, healthy people. They’re probably off by even more in other populations.

Of course, if we could accurately measure how much energy you’re expending every day, and then accurately measure exactly how much energy you’re taking in and absorbing, we could decide whether you were truly “eating too little” for your body’s requirements.

But even if we could know this outside the lab, which we can’t, it wouldn’t be useful. Because energy output is dynamic, meaning that every variable changes whenever any other variable changes (see below).

In other words, unless we can exactly measure energy inputs and outputs from minute to minute, we can’t know for sure what your metabolism is doing and how it matches the food you’re eating.

So, most of the time, we have to guess. And our guesses aren’t very good.

Not only that, but the idea of “eating too little” is subjective.

Think about it. By “eating too little”, do you mean…​•Eating less than normal?•Eating less than you’ve been told to eat?•Eating less than feels right?•Eating less than you need to be healthy?•Eating less than your estimated metabolic rate?•Eating less than your actual metabolic rate?

And how often does that apply? Are you…

•Eating too little at one meal?•Eating too little on one day?•Eating too little every day?•Eating too little almost every day but too much on some days?

Without clarity on some of these questions, you can see how easy it is to assume you’re “eating too little” but still not eating less than your actual energy expenditure, even if you did some test to estimate your metabolic rate and it seems like you’re eating less than that number.

Most times, the problem is perception.

As human beings, we’re bad at correctly judging how much we’re eating and expending. We tend to think we eat less and burn more than we do — sometimes by as much as 50 percent.

(Interestingly, lighter people trying to gain weight often have the opposite problem: They overestimate their food intake and underestimate their expenditure.)

It’s not that we’re lying (though we can sometimes deceive ourselves, and others, about our intake). More than anything, it’s that we struggle to estimate portion sizes and calorie counts.

This is especially difficult today, when plates and portions are bigger than ever. And energy-dense, incredible tasting, and highly brain-rewarding “foods” are ubiquitous, cheap, and socially encouraged.

When people start paying close attention to their portion sizes using their handsor food scales and measuring cups, they are frequently shocked to discover they are eating significantly more than they imagined.

(I once had a client discover he was using ten tablespoons of olive oil — 1200 calories — rather than the two tablespoons — 240 calories — he thought he was using in his salads)

At other times, we can be doing everything right at most meals, but energy can sneak when we don’t realise it.Here’s a perfect scenario to illustrate this.

You go out to eat with some friends at a well-known restaurant chain.

You order one of their “healthier” meals that emphasised protein, veggies, and “clean” carbs. Then you finish off dinner with cheesecake.

Curious about how much energy you'd consumed, you go and look it up on their website.

Five. Thousand. Calories.

Incredibly, you didn't even feel that full afterwards.

Also imagine a scenario where you were under-eating almost every meal during the week and maintaining an estimated negative energy balance of about -3,500 calories.

Then, during one single meal, a “healthy” menu option plus dessert, you accumulated 5,000 calories.

That one meal would put you in a theoretically positive energy balance for the week (+1,500 calories), leading to weight gain!

Seriously, how would you feel if, after eating 20 “perfect” meals in a row and 1 “not so bad” meal, you gained weight?

Another reason it can be easy to believe you gained weight eating too little (or at least didn’t lose weight when eating less) is because your metabolism isn’t like a computer.

For instance, you might have heard that one pound of fat is worth 3,500 calories, so if you cut 500 calories per day, you’ll lose one pound per week (7 x 500 = 3,500).

(Unless, of course, you downed 5,000 calories in a single meal at the end of the week, in which case you’d be on track to gain weight).

Except this isn’t how human metabolism works.

​The human body is a complex and dynamic system that responds quickly to changes in its environment.

When you undereat, especially over a longer period (that part is important), this complex system adapts.

Here’s an example of how this might play out:

•You expend less energy in digestion because you’re eating less.•Resting metabolic rate goes down because you weigh less.•Calories burned through physical activity go down since you weigh less.•Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (daily-life fidgeting, movement) goes down and you expend less energy through the day.•Your digestion slows down, and you absorb more energy from your food.

Your body will also adjust hormonal feedback and signaling loops. For instance:

•Appetite and hunger hormones go up (i.e. we want to eat more, are more stimulated by food cues, may have more cravings).•Satiety hormones go down (which means it’s harder for us to feel full or satisfied).•Thyroid hormones and sex hormones (both of which are involved in metabolic rate) go down.

Your planned 500 calorie daily deficit can quickly become 400, 300, or even 200 calories (or fewer), even if you intentionally exercise as much as you had before.

And, speaking of exercise, the body has similar mechanisms when we try to out-exercise an excessive intake.

There are other factors, such as the health of our gastrointestinal microbiota, our thoughts and feelings about eating less (i.e. whether we view eating less as stressful), and so on.

The point is that metabolism is much more complicated (and interdependent) than most people realise.

All of this means that when you eat less, you may lose less weight than you expect.

Depending how much less you eat, and for how long, you may even re-gain weight in the long run thanks to these physiological and behavioral factors.

Plus, humans are incredibly diverse.

Our metabolisms are too.

While the “average” responses outlined above are true, our own unique responses, genetics, physiology, and more means that our calorie needs will differ from the needs of others, or the needs predicted by laboratory tools (and the equations they rely on).

Let’s imagine two people of the same sex, age, height, weight, and lean body mass.

According to calculations, they should have the exact same energy expenditure, and therefore energy needs.

However, we know this is not the case.

For instance:

•Your basal metabolic rate — remember, that’s the energy you need just to fuel your organs and biological functions to stay alive — can vary by 15 percent. For your average woman or man, that’s roughly 200-270 calories.•Genetic differences matter too. A single change in one FTO gene can be an additional 160 calorie difference.•Sleep deprivation can cause a 5-20 percent change in metabolism, so there’s another 200-500 calories.•For women, the phase of their menstrual cycle can affect metabolism by another 150 calories or so.Even in the same individual, metabolism can easily fluctuate by 100 calories from day to day, or even over the course of a day (for instance, depending on circadian rhythms of waking and sleeping).

Those differences can add up quickly, and this isn’t even an exhaustive list.

In the end, hopefully you can see how equations used to predict calorie needs for the “average” person might not be accurate for you. And that’s why you could gain weight (or not lose weight) eating a calorie intake that’s below your measured (estimated) expenditure.

It’s also why some experts, who aren’t knowledgeable about the limitations of metabolic measurement, will try to find all sorts of complicated hormonal or environmental causes for what they think is a violation of thermodynamics.

The answer, however, is much simpler than that.

The estimates just weren’t very good.

And yes, water retention is a thing.

Cortisol is one of our “stress hormones”, and it has effects on our fluid levels.

Food and nutrient restriction is a stressor (especially if we’re anxious about it).

When we’re stressed, cortisol typically goes up. People today report being more stressed than ever, so it’s easy to tip things over into “seriously stressed”.

When cortisol goes up, our bodies may hold onto more water, which means we feel “softer” and “less lean” than we actually are.

This water retention can mask the fat loss that is occurring, making it seem like we aren’t losing fat and weight, when in fact we are.

Here’s an example.

A boxer was struggling to become professional. He had fought as an amateur boxer for many years and had just been called up to the pros.

It required him to stay below 220 lbs (100 kg), which was a challenge for him at 6’2”. He found that eating a lower-carb diet allowed him to maintain a playing weight around 218 lbs.

Yet his nutrition coach told him it was OK to have some occasional higher-carb days.

Unfortunately for him, he had one of these higher-carb days — going out for sushi — right before his first professional fight.

The next day, when reporting to the judges for a weigh-in, he was 232 lbs (105 kg).

Thanks, carbs and salt!

Even worse, two days later he was back to 218 lbs.

OK, but what if I track my intake and expenditure meticulously?

You might be nodding your head, beginning to realise how complex metabolism is.

How inaccurate calorie counts can be.

How variable we all are.

How much the body seeks to maintain the status quo.

And how poor we are at estimating our own intake and expenditure.

But what if you are meticulously tracking intake?

Logging your meals?

Counting your steps?

Even hitting a local research lab to measure your metabolism?

And things still aren’t adding up?

Well, it goes back to what we’ve discussed so far:

•The calorie counts of the foods you’ve logged might be higher than expected, either because of erroneous labeling or because of small errors in your own measurement.•Your energy needs might be lower than calculated (or even measured). This may be because…•You’re expending less energy through movement than your fitness tracker or exercise machine suggests.•You have less lean mass as you think, or it may not be as energy-consuming as you expect.•You’re absorbing more energy in digestion than you realize (for instance, if your gastrointestinal transit time is slow, or your microbiota are really good at extracting nutrients).

Maybe you’re just missing some data.

As mentioned above, while you’re probably not outright lying, it could be that you’re also “forgetting” to account for the few bites of your kids’ chicken nuggets that you didn’t want to go to waste. Or that extra spoonful of peanut butter. Or the large glass of wine you counted as a ‘medium’. Likewise, the calorie counts on those food labels can be (and often are) off.

Maybe you’re counting your workout as high intensity, even though you spent much of it sitting on a bench between low-rep strength sets. Maybe you were so hungry afterwards, you ate more than you intended (but figured it was all going to muscle-building, so no big deal).

It happens; we’re all human.

Measuring and tracking your energy intake carefully can help.

When we measure and track for a while, we become more aware of what we’re eating, get a more realistic idea of our portion sizes, and help ourselves be consistent and accountable.

But measuring and tracking definitely is not a perfect strategy.

It can be stressful and time-consuming. Most people don’t want to do it forever.

And it may misrepresent the “exact” calories we consume versus the “exact” calories we burn, which can lead us to believe we’re eating less than we’re burning, even when we’re not.

What about legitimate medical problems?

Whenever we arrive at this point of the discussion people usually ask about whether underlying health problems, or medications, can affect their metabolism, weight, and/or appetite.

However, this is less common than most people think, and even if you do have a health issue, your body still isn’t breaking the laws of thermodynamics.

It’s just — as discussed above — that your calorie expenditure is lower than predicted. And a few extra calories may be sneaking in on the intake side.

The good news: weight loss is still possible (albeit at a slower pace).

If you truly feel that you are accurately estimating intake, exercising consistently at least 5-7 hours a week, managing your sleep and stress, getting expert nutritional coaching, and covering absolutely all the fundamentals, then it may be time to consider further conversations and testing with your doctor.

So what can you do?

If you feel your intake is less than your needs, (in other words, you’re eating what feels like ‘too little’) but you still aren’t losing weight, here are some helpful next steps to try.

Measure your intake.

Use whatever tools you prefer. Your hands, scales and spoons, pictures, food logs, etc. It doesn’t matter.Track your intake for a few days or a full week, to see if it adds up to what you “thought” you were eating.

We are often surprised.

Sometimes, just the act of tracking increases our awareness of our intake, which helps us make better choices.

Be compassionate with yourself.

It may feel like being strict or critical is a good approach, but it isn’t. It just makes you more stressed out.

Conversely, research shows that being kind and gentle with yourself (while still having some grown-up honesty about your decisions) helps you have a healthier body composition, make wise food choices, stick to your fitness goals better, feel less anxious and stressed, and have a better relationship with food overall.

There are going to be meals or days where you don’t eat as you “should”. It’s OK. It happens to everyone. Recognise it, accept it, forgive yourself, and then get back on track.

Choose mostly less-processed whole foods.

Foods that aren’t hyper-rewarding or hyper-palatable are harder to over-eat. They don’t cause hypothalamic inflammation and leptin resistance.

They have lots of good stuff (vitamins, minerals, water, fibre, phytonutrients, disease-fighting chemicals, etc.) and are usually lower in calories.

And they are usually far better at keeping you full and satisfied.

Choose whole foods that you enjoy and will eat consistently.

Play with macronutrient levels.

Some people respond better to more carbs and fewer fats.

​Others respond better to higher fats and few carbs.

There’s no single best diet for everyone.

We all have different preferences, and even different responses to foods and macronutrients.

So play with this a bit, and find what works for you.

Own your decisions.

Let your adult values and deeper principles guide you when you sit down to eat.

Make food choices by acknowledging the outcome you would expect.

Avoid playing mental games like “If I’m ‘good’ then I get to be ‘bad”, or “If I pretend I didn’t eat the biscuits, then it didn’t happen”.

Face your behaviour with open eyes, maturity, and wisdom.

Accept that all choices have consequences.

And appreciate that it’s OK to indulge sometimes.

If you are still having trouble, get coaching.

Behavior change and sustained weight loss are hard.

Especially when we try to go it alone.

Seek out a qualified and compassionate coach or professional who can help you navigate these tricky waters.If you need help getting your nutrition on track or have any questions, contact me.

I always personally reply to all messages.

free ebook download:​Nutrition 101

With advice based on my experiences with clients over the years, this e-Book will start you on your journey to eat clean and get lean.

Nutrition habit building tips and tricks that my clients tried and tested over the years and they proved to work

Being away from home is one of the most common nutrition challenges I hear about.

So here are some tips and tricks you can use to eat well on the go.

Below, 20 ways to stick to your plan, no matter where life takes you.

The ideal: You sit at the dining table and calmly, slowly, peacefully enjoy your food.

What really happens: You lose track of time while finishing up one last work email, forget to eat, and then rush out the door to pick your son up from school so you can take him to rugby and then drive your daughter home after swim practice.

Somewhere in between: A half-eaten cereal bar, a Granny Smith apple, and some cashews.

The truth is, life isn’t ideal for anyone. But you still have to eat. And you’re allowed to prioritise healthy eating even if you’re extremely busy.

There are strategies for eating well even when you’re busy.

And, in this blog, I’ll share some great suggestions that’ll help you stick to your plan, no matter where life takes you.

AT HOME BEFORE YOU GO1. Eat a healthy meal

If you're planning to be on the go for several hours then eat something satisfying first so you don't find yourself hungry and reaching for junk in the first couple of hours at least!

Lean proteins 1-2 palms

1-2 cupped hands of carbs

1-2 thumbs of fats

1-2 fists of vegetables

2. Pack a snack (or several) in a cool bag.

Canned sardines, salmon, tuna

Cut fresh fruit

Grilled chicken

Quality protein bar (around 20g protein, low sugar)

Plain Greek yoghurt

Whey or Pea protein shake (add peanut butter for extra calories)

Quality meat jerky (low in sodium and sugar)

Raw vegetables and hummus i.e. carrots

Celery with nut butter

Hard boiled eggs

Plain nuts and seeds

3. Bring salad with youIn a Tupperware container with a tight fitting lid:

ON A PLANE OR TRAIN5. Try and take food with you from home. Here is what will make it through airport security:

Sandwiches

Whole or cut fruit and veggies

Firm cheeses

Meat

Nuts etc

Will not make it through airport security:

Soups

Sauces

Yoghurt

Anything gel like

IN A HOTEL6. Consider booking a room with a kitchenette.

7. Head to the nearest supermarket and stock up on boxed salad, baby salad and veg, hummus, chicken and fruit.

If you don't have a kitchen:

8. Ask the hotel to empty the mini bar fridge so you can use it for healthy snacks.9. Make a coffee maker porridge:Pour dry oats in the paper cup, add hot water, let it sit and stir in some protein powder if you like.

AT RESTAURANTS / CONFERENCESThese meals can be heavy, but there's usually a workaround.

10. Don't aim for perfection, just pick the best choices of what is available.11. Get creative e.g. ask them to double the grilled chicken in your pasta or sandwich.12. Ask or use more garnishes such as lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, orange slices ('free foods') etc

ON LONGER STAYS 13. Make your plan

Pre-order shopping from a local supermarket

Research the nearest supermarket and how/when you can get there

Look at restaurant menus in advance online and decide what you'll order.

14. Take or get equipment to your destinationStaying in a hotel for a while? Mail yourself a box of cheap gadgets and snacks so you're set for the duration

Cutting knife

Chopping board

Shaker bottle

Non-perishable items from the list above.

CHECK YOUR HEADHave some conversations with yourself about your journey.

15. Decide whether you'll stick to your healthy habits or take a temporary break. Either way is good as long as it's a conscious choice.

16. Aim for 'better' instead of 'perfect'. This helps you avoid the f*ck it mentality.

17. Hunger is not an emergency. It's not the end of the world to be hungry for a couple of hours if you don't like your food options and know you will have access to a better option soon.

18. What are your minimums? E.g. at least 1 serving of greens a day, 2 workouts a week, 1 glass of wine per day etc

19. No matter what happens you can always fall back on the simple stuff: Eat slowly and mindfully until satisfied (80% full).

20. If you know you're going to be eating more calories than you should, compensate a little by doing some simple HIIT workouts 10-20 minutes each day (No equipment required, other than an interval timer which you can on your phone).

Do each exercise as quick as you can for 20-30 seconds, resting 5-15 secs between each.

Do 1-3 rounds of this circuit resting a couple of minutes between rounds.

Star jumps (half stars - easier)

Mountain climbers

Squat jumps (squats - easier)

Press ups (wall or incline press ups - easier)

Mexican waves

Speed skaters

Plyometric lunges (alternating lunges - easier)

Plank (on knees - easier)

High knee running (High knee marching - easier)

Lateral skii jumps

Straight punching

Sprint

Squatty dogs

Uppercut punching

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Nutrition habit building tips and tricks that my clients tried and tested over the years and they proved to work

In one camp are vegans, vegetarians, and macrobiotic dieters, who eat a ton of whole grains. They say grains will help them live longer and healthier, free of chronic disease. Indeed, recent news seized on a Harvard study connecting grains with lower risk of death.

In the opposing camp, you’ve got the Paleo, Whole30, and Atkins advocates, who strictly limit or even completely avoid grains. They say not eating grains will help them live longer and healthier, free of chronic disease. They dominate plenty of news, too.

Celiac disease has gone up over the last 60 years, which has given rise to a gluten-fearing food subculture (and the booming gluten-free marketplace to match). Tens of millions of people now conduct grain-free experiments on themselves and read bestsellers like Wheat Belly.

As a result, many people now say they feel better when they limit or cut out one or more grains.

Who’s right? And, most importantly, should you eat grains?

Let’s iron it out once and for all.

An old stapleGrains, the seeds of grasses, are an ancient food source that is still the main source of calories for people all over the world.

Along with the familiar wheat, rice, oats, corn, barley, buckwheat and rye, there are lots of lesser-known grains such as triticale, quinoa, teff, amaranth, sorghum, millet, spelt, and kamut.

The raging debate about grains can make it seem like they’re a relatively new addition to the human diet, but we’ve actually been consuming them in some shape or fashion for millions of years (yes, the real Paleos ate grains, too).

Learning to cultivate wheat helped us give up the nomad life and create civilization as we know it today.

Grains provide a wide array of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, fibre, and phytonutrients.

Of course, when it comes to grains’ nutrients, we’re talking about whole grains. As in the whole seed. Like this:

Whole vs. refined grainsOne of the reasons that this debate became so muddled so quickly is that people group together “grains” with “carbs.”Carbohydrates are sugar-based molecules found in a range of foods, including bread, pasta, potatoes, beans, desserts, soft drinks, and — yes — whole grains.Refined grains — ones that have had their bran and germ stripped away through milling — provide all the carbohydrates with hardly any of the nutrients found in whole grains. They’re often packaged with large amounts of fat and salt.As a result, these processed grains are really tasty, easy to consume, but way less satiating — a deadly combo that leads many people to overeat, setting them on the path toward weight gain and chronic disease.But what about whole grains? Aren’t they bad for you, too?The (supposed) ill effects of grainsSome say grains can really mess up your health by causing inflammation, intestinal damage, obesity, and more.What does science say?InflammationA huge contingent in the grain-hating world claim these plants contribute to low-level inflammation, an ongoing immune response in which your body attacks its own tissue, causing cell damage.They use a few studies to prove their point.One study had people add 19 grams of wheat bran — the equivalent of about three cups of bran flakes — to their daily intake. Three months later, the subjects had slightly increased levels of oxidized LDL cholesterol, a possible marker of increased inflammation.Cue the grains-cause-inflammation rumours.

The problem? By the end of the experiment, 44 of the 67 subjects had dropped out!This makes the final data sketchy at best.What’s more, several large epidemiological studies have actually linked whole grain intake to lower levels of inflammation.Of course, these are just links. You need controlled trials to prove any causal relationship.Overall, controlled trials are neutral or supporting of the epidemiological studies here, finding that whole grains either have no effect on inflammation or indeed result in a decrease.Not one single controlled trial has shown that grains increase inflammation.

There’s an idea in the fitness industry that inflammation is the root of all health problems, and, therefore, that all health problems can be traced back to the diet and your gut. This is a false premise.Yes, food sensitivities may cause inflammation and, eventually, after a long cascade of events, may lead to disease elsewhere in the body.But the more likely scenario in most cases is that inflammation is a result of disease, and that it exacerbates other conditions or disease states that have already been set into motion.There are lots of research papers on all of this. And lots of inflammatory markers we can now test.No one — I repeat, no one — is really sure what it all means.Butinflammation probably does not cause most diseases, even those with an inflammatory component.Intestinal damageAnother prevailing idea in the anti-grain movement is that grains damage your intestines because they contain anti-nutrients and other compounds that interfere with how well you absorb minerals.At least three studies have investigated this theory. The findings: Consuming various amounts of whole wheat flour, wheat bran, and/or oat bran had no significant effects on absorption or blood levels of calcium, zinc, or iron.Let’s look at a few anti-nutrient players.

Lectins: These proteins bind to cell membranes, which can cause damage to intestinal tissue if you consume very large amounts or don’t cook the plant first (just a few sprouted red kidney beans would result in some terrible GI symptoms). But the body also uses lectins for basic functions like cell-to-cell adherence, inflammation control and programmed cell death. Lectins may even reduce tumour growth and decrease incidence of certain diseases.

Phytic acid: The storage form of phosphorus, phytic acid can bind minerals in the digestive tract, preventing their absorption. In really large doses, it can cause nutrient deficiency and related problems (it’s been blamed for short stature throughout Egypt’s history). But you’d have to eat copious amounts of bread that hasn’t gone through leavening — a standard process that significantly reduces phytic acid levels — for this stuff to be a threat. In fact, in reasonable amounts, phytic acid has a number of possible health benefits.

Protease inhibitors: When raw or lightly cooked, grains still contain large amounts of protease inhibitors, which block the action of protein-digesting enzymes, interfering with your protein absorption. But once appropriately cooked, grains contain very few protease inhibitors — and those that remain actually have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

Thus, these anti-nutrients can be a problem if you eat way too much of them, or don’t cook the foods that contain them properly. But if you eat like most people do — consuming a variety of foods and carbohydrate sources — you’ll probably be just fine.There is research showing that gluten — a protein found in certain grains (see below) — can cause your intestinal lining to be more permeable. But all of these studies were conducted ex vivo — meaning in an unnatural environment outside the body.In vivo studies, done inside the body and thus more practically useful, have found that the consumption of grains actually improves GI symptoms in sufferers of Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, and IBS.You know, the people who would be most prone to the supposed intestinal damage inflicted by grains.Yes, grains contain anti-nutrients — because all plants contains anti-nutrients.

Broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy veggies.

Red wine.

Dark chocolate.

Nuts.

Seeds.

Green tea.

Fibre itself is an anti-nutrient.

Not eating plant foods because they have compounds designed to resist their digestion would be like not eating a lobster because it has a shell and claws. All living things try to avoid being eaten. It’s simply not a tenable argument.Gluten intoleranceA protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, gluten’s visco-elastic properties are what make bread so darn delectable.In people with celiac disease, exposure to gluten causes inflammation and stimulates the immune system to attack the small intestine, damaging its cells.Over time this can inhibit digestion and make the gut more permeable, allowing in toxins, undigested food, and bacteria that would never normally make it through.Celiac can cause diarrhea, nutrient deficiencies, osteoporosis and even cancer. The only treatment for celiac is a gluten-free diet.Overall, celiac is still poorly understood and a challenge to diagnose. There are currently several different blood screens and an intestinal biopsy, but none of these are 100 percent accurate.That’s why the estimated celiac rate ranges so widely, generally from 0.3-1.2 percent of the population (some even speculate up to 3 percent).An estimated 10-20 percent of the population may suffer some other form of gluten intolerance.Originally coined “non-celiac gluten sensitivity” (NCGS), this condition seems to result in many of the same symptoms seen with celiac (bloating, pain, diarrhea) without the intestinal damage or biological markers of an autoimmune disease.But all of this is up in the air. Experiencing doubts, the researcher whose work seemed to prove the existence of NCGS performed a more rigorous follow-up study. He and his colleagues concluded that NCGS actually does not exist.Unless you have a confirmed intolerance, there is little evidence to support eliminating gluten from your diet.In fact, avoiding gluten unnecessarily could have the exact opposite effect you’re looking for. Many packaged gluten-free products are jammed with extra sugar and fat to make up for the palatability that’s lost when gluten is removed.FODMAP intoleranceWhat’s going on in people who seem to have gluten sensitivity if it’s not celiac or NCGS?Researchers now believe their symptoms of pain, bloating, and gas may be due to “FODMAPs”: fermentable, oligo-, di-, mono-saccharides and polyols.FODMAPs are carbohydrates that are found in some grains but also in dairy, vegetables, fruits, and many other foods. Some people don’t break them down or absorb them properly in the small or large intestine.FODMAPs then draw water into the gut and get fermented by the bacteria in our colon, producing hydrogen instead of methane (plus a bunch of undesirable GI symptoms).Does 10-20 percent of the population have a FODMAP problem?Frankly, the research is far from conclusive here.The best I can say is that if you suffer from NCGS-type symptoms, removing wheat from your diet might be prudent.Otherwise, there’s no need to mess with it. For those who tolerate FODMAPs, the fructans in wheat actually seem to be a beneficial prebiotic.ObesityThere’s been a lot of research on grains and body weight. Unfortunately, most of this research is, you guessed it, epidemiological.Regardless, these epidemiological studies are unanimous in showing that higher whole grain consumption is associated with lower body weight.Controlled trials have been less consistent in their results. In these tests, whole grains don’t consistently lead to superior fat loss — though the studies didn’t show the grains caused people to gain weight, either.To go beyond the inconclusive controlled-trial data, we can look at how real people do on grain-heavy diets.These aren’t perfect data, because there are many variables. But it can suggest possible trends and give us an idea of how grain consumption affects body weight in the real word, during real life.If grains were inherently fattening, vegetarians and vegans, as well as many eaters in less-industrialized countries (where grains like rice or sorghum are usually a staple) would likely be more overweight or obese.No literature exists showing that plant-based eaters, or those folks in regions for whom grains are a staple, have a higher incidence of overweight or obesity.In fact, the research shows just the opposite.While these correlations certainly don’t prove anything, it’s likely that if grains really did cause obesity, we would see some trends and correlations to reflect it.But here’s the crux of the issue: Buckwheat, oats, and quinoa aren’t making anyone fat.In their original form, these and other whole grains are relatively bland foods, not overly calorie-dense, not unusually delicious, high in fibre and relatively satisfying.But refined grains are a different story.Whole kernel corn becomes corn syrup. Whole wheat grains become refined white flours for cookies and muffins, pizza dough or pastries.Whole grain rice becomes Rice Krispies and rice noodles that we can then slather with Pad Thai sauce (potentially containing the aforementioned corn syrup).With processed foods, “carbs” are just a way to deliver hyper-palatable, “can’t-eat-just-one” enjoyment as well as calorie-dense fatty meats, cheeses, sauces, and condiments. But are the “carbs” themselves really the main problem here?

OK, so, are whole grains good for you?Here’s what we know about the benefits of whole grains. They are:

high in fibre, a nutrient that can help you maintain a healthy GI tract.

slow to digest, which helps keep blood sugar under control.

packed with vitamins and minerals.

satisfying, which helps keep your appetite in check.

And there may be more specific benefits.Overall, research shows that whole grains, with varying degrees of success, seem to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

They also seem to improve blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity, and protect against high blood pressure.OK, but are grains crucial to health? Do you need to eat grains?No. You don’t need to eat any one particular food — be it grains, apples, kale, or fish.But you need carbs. The amount of carbs you need depends on your activity level.If you exercise fairly frequently, then you’ll likely do best with a moderate carb intake.Not getting enough could mess with your metabolism, stress hormones, and muscle-building hormones.If you’re sedentary, have blood sugar issues, and/or need to lose a bunch of weight, then you’ll likely do best with a lower carb intake.You could replace whole grains with a variety of other high-quality carbs, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruit, legumes, squash, yuca, and yams.You’d be able to get all the carbs you need, in addition to plenty of fibre and a wide array of beneficial phytonutrients.But trying to eliminate grains entirely is going to be difficult in even the best of circumstances.In a life that involves family holidays, birthday parties, work functions — any instance where others are preparing the food — completely cutting out grains if you’re not suffering from celiac or a sensitivity becomes way, way more trouble than it’s worth.Getting perspective on where grains fitOften when we talk about food, we talk about the great things food X does. Or the terrible things food Y does.

In reality, foods are often a mixture of both good and bad outcomes, depending on what the diet as a whole looks like, the amount of food X or food Y being eaten, and the person who’s eating them.The position that all grains are unhealthy and should be categorically avoided is too extreme.So is the notion that grains are inherent “superfoods” that everyone should consume in massive quantities.Neither end of the spectrum is right.Most people can be fit and healthy with a mixed carb intake that includes some whole grains (a few refined carbs can be OK, too).Weigh the benefits against the risks.Might wheat carry some low-level of risk for some people? Possibly.Is it likely that the benefits of whole-grain wheat still outweigh this risk? Yes. The same is true for most whole grains — and whole foods — in general.What to do nextIt’s all a lot to process. Where should you go from here?Let this list be your guide:

Focus on whole, minimally processed, nutrient-rich foods. This means you’ll be eating plenty of lean protein and plants — including grains. It’ll also help you limit refined grains (those don’t hit the “whole” mark). Remember that what’s on top of the potato skin affects your health more than that sad, maligned tuber does itself.

Try sprouted and fermented breads. To take it further, grains that have been sprouted (e.g. Ezekiel bread) or fermented (e.g. sourdough) have even lower levels of phytates, lectins, and protease inhibitors. This increases mineral bioavailability and also tends to boost the protein quality of the bread.

If you suspect a problem with gluten, get tested. Go see your doctor, and get help implementing a gluten-free diet if you test positive for celiac disease.

Zero in on wheat. While whole-grain wheat is likely still mildly beneficial for most (sprouted wheat might be even better), this appears to be the grain with the most problems and fewest advantages. If you’re having GI issues, it’s reasonable to see if avoiding wheat helps. Here again, talk to a dietician.

Try other grain options. Variety is good. I’ve given you a list of whole grains in the beginning of this article. Try some others you don’t normally eat. Have fun expanding your horizons.

Consider an elimination diet. Food sensitivities do exist, though we don’t know with what frequency. They’re linked to GI problems and a host of other conditions throughout the body. The gold standard for uncovering a food sensitivity (grain-related or otherwise): elimination diets, in which you systematically remove and then reintroduce foods in your diet, making note of any changes in symptoms.

Stay sane.​​

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Nutrition habit building tips and tricks that my clients tried and tested over the years and they proved to work

Whether you're aiming to lose a significant amount of weight or just tone up a bit, there are several common nutritional and exercise mistakes that could be preventing you from reaching your goals.

Learn here why you’re not losing weight and how to avoid falling victim to these fat loss traps.

1. Lack of proteinThe first of the reasons you’re not losing weight could be that you’re not getting enough protein. For women lifting weights and looking to lose body fat I recommend 0.7 to 1g of protein per lb of lean muscle weight.

In order to calculate your lean body mass, you need to at least know your total body weight and body fat percentage.

It’s common knowledge that most women have difficulty achieving this level of protein intake, and this may be a key reason you’re not losing fat.

2. Too higher calorie snacksAnother of the mistakes to lose weight is eating meal sized snacks. We often believe most women eat too little or don’t eat often enough, and I do advocate eating 5-6 times per day.

But your snacks should be smaller than your main meals to lose weight.

3. Choosing low fat or diet foodsAnother of the diet mistakes so many women make is choosing low fat or diet foods at the supermarket.

These are highly processed and often make up for the ‘low fat’ by increasing sugars or carbs.

If you’re doing this, it could be why you’re not losing weight.

4. Lack of sleepMany women are so busy that they don’t get enough sleep.

That’s one of the top beginner weight loss mistakes, but it is an important one.

The body needs sleep for workout recovery and to digest properly.

Avoid this common fat loss mistake and make sure you’re getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

5. Unrealistic expectationsIf you’re trying to lose weight it’s important not to have unrealistic expectations. Weight loss takes time if you're doing it in a healthy and sustainable way.

If you’re not losing weight, make a tweak and give it a few weeks before you decide you’re not seeing results.

You should aim to lose between 1 and 2 lbs a week. Way more than this, and you're probably losing muscle which is not what you want.

Your body also needs time to adapt to weight loss changes and if you lose weight too quickly your body will think you are in danger and enforce safety mechanisms to ensure you don't lose anymore.

6. Not lifting weightsThis is one of the biggest workout mistakes that women commonly make.

They think that cardio is the way to lose weight, but strength training helps build your muscles which gives you a toned/athletic appearance (not saggy and gaunt looking like when you just do low intensity cardio) AND in turn more muscle burns more calories even while you’re at rest.

Only doing cardio is really damaging your progress. As I just mentioned, strength training is even better for weight loss because its effects burn calories not only during the workout but up to 12 hours afterwards.

If you’re not losing fat, it’s time to start strength training.

7. Under and Over TrainingAvoid the two extremes.

It's important to make sure you're doing enough exercise to see a change, but not so much that you’re not getting the rest your body needs to actually repair and recover.

8. Doing the same exercise routineAfter a while, your body adapts to the exercises you're doing and you will hit a plateau. In order to keep seeing changes in your weight loss and physique it's vital that you follow a progressive exercise plan whereby the difficulty increases on the exercises on a week to week basis, and the exercises themselves are varied.

9. Inconsistent workoutsIf you don't have a plan for each exercise session and are just 'winging' it, then chances are aren't going to progress quickly. The same can be said for missing workouts. In order to see changes, you need to stay consistent with your plan. ​

If you’re looking for a complete program to help you lose weight and tone up, with all the best nutrition advice for weight loss, and the best exercise routines too then contact me today I train all my clients in a private studio so you no longer have to worry about the guys at the gym hogging the weights area and making you feel self-conscious.

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The connection between the emotions and disease has been known for thousands of years in cultures all around the world. It's even mentioned in the Bible. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acknowledges the “7 Emotions” that are thought to have a direct correspondence to disease states. And in Yogic traditions, the term samskara means the “subtle impressions of our past actions” and it is thought that these impressions can form into patterns that can affect health.

And now modern science is discovering in astonishing detail how certain emotions can have a direct effect on disease − and healing − in the body.

What Science Says about the EmotionsThe profound effect that emotions have on health and lifespan can be evidenced by a groundbreaking series of 10-year-long studies published in the British journal Psychology and Psychotherapy in 1988.

The study, which is just as relevant today, concluded that “emotional stress was more predictive of death from cancer or cardiovascular disease than from smoking.”

It also found that individuals who were the most affected by stress had an overall death rate that was 40% higher than non-stressed participants.

So just how do emotions have such an effect on our bodies?

The term psychosomatic is normally associated with “imaginary illnesses.”

In fact, the term simply relates to the physiological connections between mind and body.

In modern scientific terms, this connection happens through tiny molecular structures called neuropeptides.

Peptides, a form of ligand, are tiny bits of protein that are produced throughout the body.

They are found in hormones such as endorphins, serotonin, and insulin, for example, and are key elements for life.

Neuropeptides pave the way between the brain (i.e. our emotions) and the body.

When a thought triggers an emotion, neuropeptides transmit those feelings through neuropathways and extracellular fluid.

Eventually these peptides will connect with cellular receptors throughout the body where they will have an impact on the functioning of body systems at all levels.

The late Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion and one of the pioneers of psychoneuroimmunology, states:“…the chemicals that are running our body and our brain are the same chemicals that are involved in emotion.”

How Your Emotions Affect Your BodyHere are just a few ways in which specific emotions affect specific bodily functions:

A University of Arizona study found that expressing affectionate feelings towards your loved ones can lower cholesterol;

A study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology discovered that when subjects simply recalled the situation that had been the initial cause of stress, their blood pressure rates raised significantly.

Another study at the University of Maryland Medical Centre found that just the anticipation of laughter began to reduce the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.

A study at Loma Linda University in California found that when individuals laughed at a funny film, the levels of beta-endorphins, responsible for mood elevation, rose as well. In addition, Human Growth Hormone, which aids in sleep and contributes to cellular repair, rose by 87%.

Emotional Clearing for Better HealthClearing emotions and managing stress go hand in hand. Before you can truly clear emotions, you must learn how to manage stress in order get cortisol levels down.

Remember, there is a direct and proven correlation between chronically high cortisol levels (i.e. chronic stress) and cancer.

When you are in a relatively calm internal space, memories and feelings associated with stressful situations can rise to the surface in order to be dealt with and cleared.

Here are four basic things you can do NOW to manage stress, lower cortisol levels, and clear stressful emotions so that true healing can occur:

1. Reflect on what keeps you stressed in your life and DECIDE to make a change. Divorce, the death of a loved one, finances, even happy occasions like getting married can add to the stress factor.

A major source of on-going stress for many people is work-related.

An Oxford Health Plans study found that 1 in 5 Brits will go to work even if they are ill, injured, or seeing a doctor that day.

Reflect on what is causing you stress right now.

On a scale from one to ten, how would you rate this stress?

Decide if you want this number to go down.

Then make a commitment to yourself and your health by determining to make a positive change towards lower stress overall.

2. Consider tried and true modalities to manage stress. Once you have decided to lower stress and clear emotions for health, decide on some modalities that will help you get there.

These are all things you can do STARTING NOW to lower stress responses and add a little more self-care to your life.Remember that self-care equals emotional care.

And you don’t have to do them all.

Simply choose one or two modalities, then give it a try.

Even taking 10 minutes on your lunch break for a leisurely stroll can sometimes do the trick.

3. Don’t go it alone. Study after study has shown that those who have the support of a caring group of loved ones have a better chance of coming out of a cancer diagnosis than those who “go it alone.”

And according to Lissa Rankin, MD, Individuals who attend some kind of group or club regularly live 7.5 years longer than those who never or rarely attend.

So whether it is a church group, a cancer support group, a mentor/trainer or a group of friends, make a list of who you want on your “Healing Team” and then get the help and support that you need.

4. Don’t be afraid to “sit” with your emotions. As you begin to take a break from the “24/7 stress fest” and begin to make room for reflection and healing, it is natural for deeper issues, memories or events to rise to the surface.

Emotions may come out of nowhere, and this is very normal.

Practice sitting with emotions as they rise to the surface and always remember that no matter how bad you may feel, these emotions are coming up to be released.

They won’t last forever. In fact, there is a good chance that you will feel better after the tears come and go!

Studies have found that emotional tears contain high numbers of stress hormones and neurotransmitters, leading researchers to conclude that crying is one way that the body removes stress chemicals.

In a way, modern science is discovering what the ancients knew long ago: emotional clearing is part of living a healthy, vibrant life and a part of the healing process. The reward for doing the work of emotional clearing is good health all around.

Although I help people lose weight and transform their bodies, one of the most overlooked side effect of the overhauling your exercise, nutrition and lifestyle is improving your mental health and happiness.

In my opinion there is no better drug on the planet that can improve your mental health, including decreasing your stress, than eating correctly and doing regular intensive exercise.

In fact a lot of businesses, are now starting to see the benefits of looking after their employees wellbeing and are seeing how they benefit from encouraging their workforce to exercise regularly - reduction in sickness/absence, improved productivity etc.

It's something to think about when you're building your career or business.

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Would you like to supercharge your willpower so that you still do the things you need to do no matter what?

Would you like to improve your self-esteem and belief to have the confidence to take action without worrying about what other people think? ​

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